French pole vaulter calls for green armbands protest at Beijing Olympics

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3/22/08

French pole vaulter calls for green armbands protest at Beijing Olympics

Olympics

by robsylvain

more posts by author

The Associated Press Saturday, March 22, 2008 PARIS: French pole vaulter Romain Mesnil wants athletes at the Beijing Olympics to wear green armbands. Mesnil, silver medalist at last year's world championships in Osaka, Japan, said athletes could do this to bring attention to human rights issues in China after the clampdown on protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. "I believe an initiative from athletes at the Olympics would be welcome," Mesnil, the president of the French athletes' union, said in a statement on his Web site. "Athletes who wish to do so could wear a green ribbon, the color of hope, for the duration of the Games, showing our attachment for the respect of human rights without political connotation." The Olympic Charter forbids any kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda, but Mesnil said such actions would only show "respect" for the charter. China's stance on protests in Tibet has prompted widespread debate on whether athletes should boycott Beijing or use the games to highlight human rights problems in China. Protests started in Lhasa on the March 10 anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.